Y...Ike....s!!!

So, here's the scoop...

Ever heard of a little rain storm called "Ike"? That is where Ryan is. He was deployed to go help with hurricane issues that arise as people are evacuated and homes are destroyed. In the last three days he has visited San Antonio, Beeville, Houston (where he ran into two cousins of mine in Wal-Mart!), Beaumont, and back to San Antonio. He has been sleeping in the back of a truck or on the bus and no, there haven't been showers. He will be arriving in Galveston by 7 AM Saturday morning (at least that is the plan right now) and will probably be gone 1 1/2 to 2 weeks depending on damage, etc. I will keep you posted as I know more. I may not be able to talk to him for a few days depending on phone service.
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The kids and I are doing fine. We went to see my brother who lives and hour and a half from us yesterday. My cousin's football team was playing in the town where my brother lives so I got to see Jeremy in action as a coach! It was neat but wierd-- he's 6 years younger than me-- coaches are supposed to be old guys! The kids loved it!
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School is going really well. The kids are just zooming through their math books and I am so impressed at how quickly they are learning and understanding new concepts.
Here are some new skills they have learned:

Benjamin: the Pledge of Allegiance, able to identify all the continents and oceans and directions (N,S,E,W) on a map, some patriotic songs, days of the week/months of the year, all of Psalms 100 and 121 (plus various other verses), books of the New Testament, how to correctly write his numbers 0-9

Maya: has beautiful handwriting, is beginning to read with confidence, place value (to the hundreds place)-- which includes writing the numbers and saying them correctly and showing that she understands the concept by "building" the number with cubes, all of Psalms 100 and 121, books of the New Testament, identifying places on a map (example: India, Philippines, Jerusalem, etc.)

Sarah: reading very well, advancing in math quickly-- I started her out in an easy book to make sure she hadn't missed out on any basics because of our crazy year last year, she will finish it by Christmas and be into multiplication after the first of the year-- all of Psalms 100, 121, 23 and 1 plus lots of other verses throughout the Old and New testaments, the books of the Old and New Testaments, she loves to write in her journal

They all LOVE puzzles and listening to me read to them. Often, our evenings find us camped out in the living room with me reading to them and the three of them sprawled out on the floor working puzzles. They love collecting bugs and rocks-- you should see our back patio-- it is a working rock and bug farm! Come by for the tour!

I am anxious to finish up our curriculum and start the next one! We will be finishing it in December and starting a new one in January. I alternate what I buy every 6 months to break up the cost for us....I buy Sonlight in November and Math-U-See in the summer. It has worked out pretty well so far doing it this way.

It is so exciting to see the children growing in knowledge and wisdom! I LOVE that God has given me the privilege of teaching our children at home! What joy!

Delighting in God's Plan

A dear friend of mine just shared with me an article on the state of California's adoption of a policy to incorporate immoral ideas of "family" and "relationship" into their schools. Reading the article caused me to pause a moment and reflect on how we came about our decision to home school-- the journey God has brought us on thus far to get us to where we are now. I must admit, I have wavered a lot this year in our decision to home school the children. Feelings of fear, anxiousness, even some laziness has prompted me to consider putting them in the "little, quiet, country school down the road." God showed me that much of my fear was due to the fact that I haven't been diligent in pursuing His heart on the matter. I was trying to do it all in my own strength and we all know how far we can get in our own strength-- not very. Also, somehow, I had become very unorganized. By asking God to help me learn to manage my household according to His desires has made a world of difference in my attitude. Deep down, I WANT to home school but I also long to enjoy it and have the children enjoy it. I am beginning to see that by daily depending on Him and Him alone, it is such a joy! In fact, I have known no greater joy! I was remembering that all I ever wanted to be growing up was a Mommy OR a teacher and was amazed at how God, who planted those seeds in me from the very beginning, is showing me how I am both. He has truly given me the desires of my heart and then given me the desires of my heart!! Here is the first entry in my home school journal dated May 2006:

How I long to KNOW my children well enough to KNOW the way God made each of them and understand or begin to understand how to train them in the way they should go. To know how to love them, train them, discipline them, each according to his or her own bent. It is my full responsibility (along with their father of course), as I take on this endeavor to educate them. If all I do is impart information to them, I may as well send them to public school. There is something greater God has called me to.

The Lord has inspired me to begin gathering any material I can on what real education of my children is. This includes writing down thoughts I have, observing my blessed charges, and of course studying what God's word has to say on KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, TEACHING, WISDOM, etc. I want this notebook, in time, to reflect my own desire to learn about the things that I am passionate about: my God, truth found only in His word, the children He has given me, and my desire to lift my children to the heights of wisdom as only God can show me how.

The Lord knows my desire to not only educate my children but to impart to them an enthusiastic passion for HIM! He has created a huge world for us to discover and I pray we would delight in discovering it together! I long to grasp hold of the everyday opportunities the Lord will provide for learning. I pray He would teach me to be taught by His Holy Spirit so that I may teach them to always allow Him to be their teacher. I pray He would teach me to teach the children to run home to Him. My heart's desire is for my time with our children to have eternal value. I want it to go beyond ABCs and 123s and focus instead on the things only He can teach them in an environment conducive to this kind of teaching that He will teach me how to provide for them. May I never compare myself or my own little lambs to others. God has called our family to be something special and unique for His glory. I long to be pleasing in His sight alone. How I need the peace of having a mind filled with the things above.

I desire for each of our children to go looking for their heart's desire by first asking the Lord to place in them the desire He has for them. That they would delight in Him, in knowing their Lord fully and discovering things about Him daily. I desire for our children to look different from the world but know they will need an added amount of strength to look different. Each day, each moment with the children God has given us is a blessing. I rejoice in the fact that He has shown me His desires for me and taught me to embrace the calling He has on my life and on our family. May I learn to see things as God would have me see them, to sit still and embrace Him, to listen with all my listening, and understand with all my understanding. God's ways are greater than the heights of the sky and deeper than the depths of the ocean.

I praise Him that I have a part in His awesome plan!
"For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Proverbs 1:7